I'm in the minority opinion here when I say I did not enjoy this. I did fly through it, but ultimately the story just fell flat for me. First, with some parts I felt like there were passages or explanations missing and I would get confused about what was happening (maybe this will be fixed in final copy). The way the narrative was structured was confusing with how it flipped between perspectives, I didn't totally *get* the book or what it was really saying. While there were some parts and some reveals that I enjoyed, I ultimately just did not enjoy the reading experience. There was also a very graphic animal scene that I felt was not necessary and was done more for shock value.

"𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒐 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒆𝒍𝒔𝒆'𝒔, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆."
𝑴𝒚 𝒔𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒖𝒊𝒏𝒆. "𝑰 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏."
𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆, 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒂 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍.

Thank you @netgalley and @berkleypub for this ARC that publishes tomorrow, 1/25!

Was this a dark comedy? A sharply written satirical commentary on how the 1% lives? I'm not sure what I just read, but GOOD RICH PEOPLE takes the award for my most original read in recent memory!

Filled with unlikable characters, Lyla and Grant live with Grant's domineering, slightly insane mother in her palatial estate. There is a guesthouse beneath the property that they rent out to tenants, and that's where the craziness begins.

The tenants are carefully selected...self-made professionals who rose to success from nothing, with an air of poverty and desperation still clinging to them. For fun and out of sheer boredom, the trio of rich twats begin a campaign of merciless terror to ruin their tenant's life in a plethora of ways...getting them addicted to drugs or ruining their professional reputation just for starters.

But they meet their match when Demi moves in because Demi is not who they think she is. In a series of outrageous and over-the-top events, this vapid trio may find the tables have turned after all.

Campy, irreverent, darkly comedic, and utterly outrageous, move GOOD RICH PEOPLE to the top of your list!

“There’s a murderer living with me.
There’s a body I set fire to.
There’s a bag of hands and teeth.
And I’ve always wanted a Chanel bag.”

Well that was…different 😵‍💫. This book was kind of all over the place, and not necessarily in the best way. Not a lot even happens until the last 20% of the book. I found myself putting it down and not being pulled to pick it back up.

This book is being touted as a survival game thriller, which is certainly is. But I couldn’t really figure Lyla out. She and her stupid wealthy husband Graham invite self-made success stories to live in their guesthouse and then conspire to ruin their lives. Then Demi, a homeless girl with a tumultuous past, finds herself as their newest tenant when fate intervenes. She is not their typical tenant, or even the tenant they think they chose, but Lyla and Graham don’t know that.

This book touches on some heavy subjects such as the wealth divide (specifically in L.A.), drug addiction, and homelessness. There aren’t any characters with any redeeming qualities at all which is probably why it took me so long to get through this book.

I think you will either love or hate this book. It’s different. It’s unique. It’s not like what you’re probably used to reading. It is neither awful nor superb. But it is well written and the end is very intense.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing, Netgalley, and the author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

BOOK REVIEW: Good Rich People by Eliza Jane Brazier
Publication Date: January 25

⭐️⭐️⭐️️

T.I.M.E. Most Anticipated Books of 2022

CONNECT WITH THIS BOOK | T.I.M.E. SIMPLE LIVING TIP
Keep game-playing to actual games... ✨😎✨

T.I.M.E. Brief Review: One of the most unusual thrillers I have ever read! Bonus points on the trailblazer writing style... I am not sure why I did not connect more with the story. All of the elements were there for me to really love it... So will definitely keep Eliza Jane Brazier on my radar for future reads! She is an author to watch... Cheering you on, Eliza!... ✨😎✨

Pages: 329
Genre: Thriller
Sub-Genre: Psychological Thriller
Time Period: Present Day
Location: Hollywood Hills

IF YOU LIKE THIS BOOK THEN TRY…
Book: If I Disappear by Eliza Jane Brazier
Movie: Burn After Reading

--------------------

All my reviews can be seen at This Is My Everybody | Simple Living | Denise Wilbanks at www.thisismyeverybody.com

♡ Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

This is more than a suspense book, it’s a wild ride. It’s hard to keep track of the players without a score card.

Lyla and Graham are a wealthy married couple living near Graham’s domineering mother. Graham and his mother are into games. Dangerous games. They are intent on renting out their guesthouse and destroying the lives of those who live there. It's become a sport to them.

Demi is their new tenant and she’s sure moving into Graham and Lyla’s guesthouse is the best thing that could happen to her. Slowly, she starts to question everything she believes.

I don’t want to give too much away about this book and spoil it. So, I won’t say more about the plot. I have to admit, I found it difficult to like any of the characters in this book. It’s hard to root for anyone when none of the characters are very nice.

The intensity level is high in this one. Even though I didn’t particularly like any of the characters, I still couldn’t put the book down. It was addictive. I had to know how this would all end. The author did a good job of keeping the reader interested from chapter to chapter.

It is an odd, but intriguing book to say the least.





FTC Disclosure: I voluntarily reviewed a free Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

This was a really excellent examination of poverty and class that was somewhat marred by an under-explored ending. I suppose one could argue that everything that needed to be said was contained in the preceding pages but I, for one, wanted to know what happened to Helen next.

Good Rich People is the story of Lyla, a moneyed young woman whose father lost everything, so decided to claw back her rightful place in society by fascinating the handsome and obscenely wealthy Graham Herschel. Even tho she suspected that he wasn't a good person, she didn't particularly care -- or, as she begins to suspect towards the end of the book, she subconsciously thought she could change him. But as her marriage begins to falter, she finds herself drawn further and further into the sick games Graham and his mother Margo play with the tenants they specially select to live in the guesthouse below her own home, just across the street from Margo's palatial estate.

Demi Golding is their latest tenant, and Lyla can't figure out whether she's just stubbornly solitary or, worse, a plant brought there by Margo to ensure that Lyla doesn't win. For it's Lyla's turn to play the game, to prove herself to her husband and mother-in-law, to show that she deserves to stay in their rarefied circles. But she's already broken the rules once, when everything went wrong with their former tenant. Will she be able to break the rules again in order to save herself, and possibly the lives of others?

The cultural and literary allusions come fast tho never too heavy-handedly in this elegantly constructed novel that's part comedy of manners and wholly a crime thriller. A bit like an American version of Bong Joon-ho's amazing movie Parasite, this novel features both a shallow, trapped, rich housewife as well as a woman who's known the kind of grinding poverty that renders people like herself invisible to society at large. While Lyla's peccadilloes are often played for dry laughs -- there was one throwaway line that was eerily reminiscent of Lucille Bluth's "It's one banana, Michael. What could it cost, ten dollars?" -- Demi's suffering speared me to my core. It's rare to read such an honest accounting of what it means to have nothing, not even a safe place to reliably sleep. My mouth felt dry reading Eliza Jane Brazier's words, to be reminded so forcefully of the desperation that seizes you when you're battling to become a real, recognized person in an American society stacked so firmly against the poor and dispossessed.

And while I found the denouement just a smidge less than satisfying, I did greatly appreciate Ms Brazier's acknowledgments, where she credits the British benefits system for keeping her late husband, and thereby herself, supported. "These systems save lives and are desperately needed everywhere," she writes, and I could not agree more. My family and I were extremely lucky not to have to brave the streets in order to survive in America. Those days are behind us now, and will hopefully never be seen in our futures again, but I wouldn't wish them on my worst enemy. It's a crime that anyone in a country this prosperous is treated as poorly as those experiencing homelessness, and I'm hoping Ms Brazier's book helps raise awareness about what a very real problem our lack of a support system is.

Good Rich People by Eliza Jane Brazier was published today January 25 2022 by Berkley Books and is available from all good booksellers, including <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/15382/9780593198254">Bookshop!</a>

Good Rich People is one of those books that you turn the last page and think 'what in the world was that?' I know I did, but I also thoroughly enjoyed it. It's dark and twisted, sometimes shocking, and it comes with those characters you love to hate. Seriously, these are some really unlikeable characters, which makes the story even more entertaining. Most of us couldn't even imagine knowing someone like Lyla and Graham, let alone being like them, and to be honest, they're probably as over the top as the storyline. Funnily enough, that's part of what makes this one so much fun to read. It's pretty out there, and there are also a couple of jumps in logic, but with everything going on, that wasn't a big drawback for me. I think this book is gonna be one of those where a lot of people are going to have to agree to disagree, and I think it very well may be split down the middle on opinions. What I know is I enjoyed the story and while it stretched the suspension of disbelief, it was just the escape from reality that I needed.

Very strange and guaranteed to be unlike any thriller you’ve read. I enjoyed the gothic elements. Some parts felt a little undeveloped (like Astrid’s role) and I was slightly confused but the purpose of the repetition in the last chapter but more than likely something just went over my head. I read in one day and found it quite entertaining.

Synopsis⁠
Graham and Lyla literally have it all: mansion, fancy cars, yachts, private islands. In fact, they’ve so much that they’re bored. Recognizing her husband’s need for stimulating entertainment, Lyla has always turned a not-so-blind eye to “the game” he and his mother play. They like to lure unsuspecting victims into the guest house and prey upon them. But last time really hit home for Lyla. She’s left shaken, but not as shaken as Graham’s confidence in her. Can she still be trusted to guard the family secrets? To be sure, he has to put her to the test. ⁠
⁠
Musings⁠
Dark, sadistic, twisted, frighteningly pathologic: these are just a few words I’d use to describe this amazing book. None of the characters in this book are likable, but I found myself sucked in and hanging on for dear life as the story unfolded. The immorality of each of the characters makes it very difficult to connect with them, so that could be a turnoff for some readers. But there’s an aspect of schadenfreude that keeps you flipping pages as quickly as you can. To say this book was a mind game is an understatement. The author’s writing style conveys with clarity the apathy, fear, loathing, and ignorance of “the rich,” while simultaneously capturing the desolation, isolation, and desperation of “the poor.” I also enjoyed dual points of view and timeline hopping, too. It was easy to keep track of what was going on despite the frequent changes. I found myself wanting more of each character’s perspective each time the story shifted. The chapters are short, the dialogue crisp and witty, and the inner monologues are scathingly funny. All in all, this one was a winner for me in so many ways.

In a nutshell this is a book about wants, needs and deep desires. And how those can vary depending upon your personal situation. Lyla marries into a filthy rich family and is drawn into their game. They play with people. People they consider beneath them. They do it for sport to keep the doldrums away.

I have to say while I did not connect with or like any of the characters, I couldn’t put it down. I wanted the details of the game and how this rendition would play out. And those details and what happened to cause the previous game’s bad outcome unravels slowly throughout the book.

And while this is going to sound as contrasting as the title, this is an incredibly slow burn but at the same time a wild ride. At times this is crazy over the top, but I found it entertaining.

One thing I will say is the point of view switches back and forth between two characters and the story sometimes picks back up to relive the story from the second point of view and other times the story moves forward at the switch. I did spend a little time acclimating where I was in the story after a character switch, which caused the slow burn to burn even slower.

If you are up for a slow burn thriller that is crazy over the top, then this one's for you.

2.5 Stars

Good Rich People follows the ultra-rich and the cruel games they can play. This book was pure chaos for the whole 336 pages. None of the characters were likable, not just unlikeable, but they were truly atrocious individuals. They made horrible decisions, and I was constantly screaming at them in my head. I have to say that I could not stop reading this book and finished it in just a few days.


The dark humor in this story was present throughout, and I thought it added to the over-the-top actions of the characters. This book reminded me of the movie Ready or Not.


This book had some twists that kept me guessing. It was a quick read that kept me turning the page to see how it would end. I enjoyed the game element of the story and how everyone in the family and on the estate had a part to play. I will say it was hard not liking any of the characters. I didn’t want any of them to win their “game.”


There were a few parts in the story where I felt lost. The ending was confusing. Also, I wouldn’t say I liked that the events were told multiple times from two different perspectives. It often took me out of the story because I had to remember where I was in the timeline.


This book is perfect for those who like unreliable narrators, reading about the elite, and want some dark, twisty humor in their thrillers. It will also appeal to people who like books with cinematic quality.

This book is absolutely unhinged in the best way. I’ve been on a thriller kick lately and this did not disappoint, so I’m grateful to have received a copy through Net Galley. First you’re pulled in by the couples’ game, then you’re rooting for them to be bested by it. Too many thrillers fall into a trap of predictability about halfway through but Good Rich People never stopped entertaining and leaving me at the edge of my seat.

I really liked this book. It jumped right in to the story and while it took awhile for me to get used to how the author separated out the narrative I really liked it.

What the..? Good Rich People was a cast of terrible people who make a game of ruining other people’s lives just because they’re bored.
It started out strong but fell flat when certain things happened and the abrupt change in POV never gave any real context. I would have LOVED to have Graham and Margot’s POV thrown in along with Lyla and Demi’s.
Overall, this just made me really mad, but I get why people will enjoy this one!

Thank you to Berkley Publishing for an advanced digital copy in exchange for review via NetGalley

" You wouldn't think you would be able to eat with a dead body less than fifty feet away from you...You wouldn't think you would be able to do a lot of things until you do."

Oh and the things, the horrible things the awful characters do in Good Rich People by the disturbing creative mind of writer Eliza Jane Brazier will leave you cringing and often breathless.

Without revealing too much in this at times infuriating satirical psychological thriller be forewarned no one is likeable, worth rooting for or trustworthy. Disturbed Lyla is married to wealthy soulless Graham who is the puppet of his purely evil mother Margot. Graham is not filthy rich and he is waiting for mother Margot to die so he can live in filthy richness.

While they wait they play a game with real people. They find self made successful people and invite them to stay at their hidden guesthouse underneath their mansion on the edge of a cliff. Then they deviously dismantle and ruin the lives of their houseguests. After all new money is so gauche.

What they don't expect is that their next guest Demi is not their typical victim. In fact she is not who they think she is at all. Let the twisty games begin!

This book was such a weird reading experience. Normally I wouldn't keep reading a story where I couldn't stand anyone even the victims of sadistic behavior. Credit for keeping me engaged goes to the clever writing style of the author. I realized she knows these people are abhorring but that is the point. Their wealth makes them believe their entitlement is deserved and their manipulations have justification in their boredom. It was mesmerizing and compelling through every twisty curve I didn't see and the ones I saw a mile away. Read this one with a bit of tongue in cheek and know you are a decent human.

I received a free copy of this book from the publishers via #Netgalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you Berkley Pub for inviting me on the Blogger Blitz Celebration for 𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗥𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲!
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What a clever, wicked, sarcastic cat-and-mouse chase thriller!
Lyla and Graham are the ultra rich couple, who are so rich that everything bores them. So Graham and his mother, Margo, concocted a “game” where they invite successful tenants to live in their guesthouse below their house. Then they carefully plot to ruin…and even end their lives. The three of them take turns in this savage play.

Now it’s Lyla’s turn because Lyla “slipped” in the previous game and she must prove herself worthy to Graham and Margo. However the latest prey, Demi, doesn’t quite fit the mold of usual tenants. Demi makes even more money than Graham…but something is just…off about her. Will Lyla take Demi down and keep her position in the Herschel family? Or will Demi have the last laugh? You absolutely MUST read this book to find out!

Written in alternate chapters between Lyla and Demi’s POVs, this book is sure to keep you furiously turning the pages to the end. Y’all, I binge read this one in 2 days and it pulled me out of a huge reading slump! The sarcastic tone that permeates throughout the book may not be for everyone but it’s a book that gives a lighthearted feel while reminding us the huge divide between the rich and the poor. That huge twist with Demi that happens early on is also definitely worth reading because no one would see it coming and it propels the remainder of the story towards a new path. I highly recommend Good Rich People!
TW: Animal Death

This book is pure, fast-paced guilty pleasure reading, my friends. I read it all in two sittings and could hardly put it down the first time.

Heads up: One animal dies

I even got a bit of a Squid Game vibe with all the rich folks playing twisted games in fancy places.

Lyla and Graham are filthy rich. So rich that they have to invent ways not to get bored. Luckily, their mansion has a guesthouse which gives them the perfect opportunity to play a game in which they slowly destroy the lives of each tenant. Demi is the newest unsuspecting tenant and after a tough childhood, a life of poverty, and bouts of homelessness, she’s going to give them a fight.

The book is told from the perspectives of Lyla and Demi, which I loved. There’s constantly a balance of figuring out who knows what from chapter-to-chapter, which adds some delightful tension.

Also, the cover is fantastic! It really captures the spirit of the book.

No, this isn’t contemporary literature or anything and the characters aren’t exactly nuanced, but it sure makes for a mighty enjoyable read.

3.5 stars - I can't even describe what I just read. To say the main characters are unlikeable would be doing unlikeable characters a misjustice. These people are simply awful. To the point that it's almost laughable. They are rich, they are bored, and destroying others is what they do for fun. It's creepy and toxic and outrageous. And I couldn't stop reading!!!

I enjoyed some of the extremeness of the characters, but they were all unlikeable for the most part. I will say this was a fun read, the games, the REASONS (wow, little explanation you get) why they do things and the multiple view points. I like the way this is set up like a game and this time they make Layla play. They bring someone into their guest house to play with them and their life, that can be anything. They do some wild things! I found some of the conversations and actions to be really over the top. Overall it was a really fun read that I enjoyed.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing and Netgalley for my copy for honest review

I love morally bankrupt characters. I love morally grey characters. I love unreliable narrators. I love characters who are just empty inside, as empty as the color eggshell white. This book is absolutely filled to the brim with nothing but all of these things: morally bankrupt characters, morally grey characters, an unreliable narrator, characters as empty as the eggshell white on their walls and bedding, and their eyes as glassy as the windows in their mansions in the hills above Los Angeles.

This book is absolutely fabulous. I picked it up and was swallowed within the first couple of pages. Every time I had to put it down to attend to something else I was bitter and put out. I ate my lunch holding my Kindle in one hand and shoving food in my mouth with the other.

This book is told in two juxtaposed first-person POV’s: Lyla, the rich wife of a rich man who’s the son of an even-richer woman, and “Demi”, a homeless woman who has stolen the identity of the actual Demi who was meant to move in as a tenant in the guest house below Lyla and her husband. When Lyla is telling the story it reads like satire, almost like something Kathy Wang (who wrote Impostor Syndrome) would write. When “Demi” is telling the story it reads more like something gothic and suspenseful, like Meg Abbot (who wrote “The Turnout”) would write. This is reflected in how both women talk about their situations and each other in the narrative prose, and it’s a stunning writing style. It makes for a great tapestry.

The book has a texture to it, but a very claustrophobic feeling. All of the action mostly takes place either in Lyla’s home, the guest house, or on the grounds of the main house in its entirety. As such, you feel like these characters are all isolated in this ultra-rich location high in the hills above Los Angeles, where no one but the richest should be able to breathe the cleanest air available and build elaborate houses that might burn or fall down any minute.

As these characters play their games with each other, you will be revolted in some ways, angry in other ways, sad in some ways, and savage in some ways. This book isn’t a happy book. It’s a razor-sharp and suspenseful book that peeks over two different shoulders into the lives of people who have more money than sense, no moral compass, and are utterly bored with the game of life.